Friday

Washington Square Park in NYC

See Picture- A boy, maybe 8 years old, was ON TOP of the swing set. I believe that I heard this kid referred to as "Luca". I could be wrong. He was also talking to a woman who could have been an aunt, grandma or nanny (late 50s?) but I am not sure if they were together.I just can't see any reason that this or any child should have been allowed to be on top of the swings. There were other children at the sandpit jungle gym, many of whom were on top of the tunnels, standing on top of ladders, etc (in the wrong way, not as they were designed and certainly high enough that they could have died if they had fallen) but I couldn't spend my time taking pictures of all the kids, since I had to watch my own and it was a madhouse!

In general, there were a LOT of adults sitting on the bench, and I'll be honest about 90% were clearly nannies. There were parents there as well but most were in the sand or next to their kids. There were exceptions of course. I had multiple kids come up to me to ask me for help, want me to play with them... It is really sad that some of these kids are so attention starved... If your nanny takes your kids to this park, consider dropping by to make sure she is really watching actively. It was VERY crowded, and it would have been very easy for a child to get abducted.

77 comments:

SAHM
said...

Not only could that child have been seriously injured if he fell-he could have fallen on another child there and seriously hurt that child also. Whenever I see something like that I always go over to the child and tell them they need to get down because it's not safe. I don't care if another parent gets mad at me-I don't want some crazy child jumping/falling onto my children!!

I agree. As a experienced nanny, I see this all the time. Unfortunately, the little ones will think what the other and older kids are doing is cool- and they will try to copy. Please parents & caregivers- please watch your kids- we want everyone to be safe and most of all, have fun.

Honestly kids need a little room to explore, have fun, and maybe make mistakes. A playground is the perfect place for this and I see no reason why an 8 year old needs someone to hover over and coddle him. Good job to that little acrobat!

I remember climbing trees, riding my bike alone to friends houses, going over makeshift jumps careening alont on a skateboard, and yes using playground equiptment the wrong way. I am in my mid 20's so this wasn't that long ago.

I wish children today could have some of the freedoms that we had as children rather than hovering caregivers breathing down their necks! And please no comments about 'the world is different today' because you're right it is different; there has been a steady decline nationwide in violent crime which peaked in the 70's.

Let's give these kids some room and applaud their little victories, yes even the victory of climbing a swingset... the wrong way.

You need a reality check. Climbing a swingset is not a victory. It is dangerous and not the way the equipment is supposed to be used. If I saw my child do this I would not tell them "good job" I would say, "Get down: that is not the right place to climb. Look: there is a climber: go climb to the top of the climber instead."

Yes, let us applaud children's victories, but we also need to teach them to be safe. It does not mean you are "hovering" when you are teaching safety to children. As one other poster said, this child could have fallen on another child and seriously hurt himself and someone else.

And why in God's name are you quoting statistics from your undergrad Sociology courses? Please spare us.

My little charge right now is a climber. The parents have her in gymnastics and tumble time. I would never in a million years let any child climb up to the top of the swings like that!! It's true the little ones see them and they want to try! That kid could have broken his arm or hit his head if he fell off!

The nannies are all sitting on the behinds wearing a placard around there necks with the word "NANNY" written on them and the hands on adults were up and about wearing placards that claimed them to be "PARENT."Please!

world's best nanny,you must be from bumblefuck, missouri. Out here, it is a FACT that most nannies are black or hispanic. If you can't tell the difference between an AA Mom in Prada slides and canary diamonds and a Jamaican nanny, then heaven help you. Don't project your stupidity on to the lot of us.

I live and work in a Metropolitan area, in some cases the nannies dress as well or even better than the mommies. Have we learned nothing from Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent? Never judge a book by it's cover. You sound like the nannies are running around in headrags and aprons saying "git ober hair 'n put on yur jaket before you catch yur deaf of dampness." "Missus de chile whoa listen to me." Pull your head out of your ass. You sound like a racist fool.

I'm all for letting kids explore and take risks, but this is dangerous. I would make that child get down.

I agree with WBN to a point. I let my charges do something dangerous sometimes and let them get the consequences. As long as those consequences are a scraped knee, bruise, or minor injury. I don't let them set themselves up for concussions, broken bones, or hurting other children.

I am picturing you as a judgemental person. Any parent who would allow their child to do something unsafe is just plain stupid. Some day you will be a parent (God help us) and you will want to protect your child. Being safe and smart does not mean you are keeping your child on a leash. My child gets her share of scrapes and bruises, believe me. She is into everything, loves to run and climb. I believe in letting children take risks. I do not believe in putting them in danger.

Kids who grew up in the 80's played outside without constant adult supervision, we crossed the street on our own, we broke bones, got stitches, failed classes... kids these days are not given opportunities to make mistakes... one day mommy and daddy or nanny won't be there, they may make a mistake and not know how to react... if a kid gets hurt.. he will learn!

So, scaling a swing set is a victory. Nicole, I get that. Yippee. BUT the child should at the very least be taught to refrain from his climb if there are other children on the swing set. No sense taking an innocent bystander down with you.

I have fond memories of my dad encouraging and watching over me as I attempted daring feats like this. It built up my confidence to do things that were a little out of the box and scary. I remember standing on a tall post that held up the jungle gym structure with balanced on one foot pretending to the be karate kid. It was great!

And yet . . . there's no way in hell I'd let the children in my charge up on top of that swing set. First of all, they're not mine! As a rule you should be overly cautious with precious children who are trusted to your care. You don't have to let them push the envelope to explore what they're little bodies can do--you're supposed to get those little bodies back to Mom & Dad unharmed.

And when the children are my own, will I be as encouraging as my father when it comes to the risky stuff? No, I don't think so. We played in a suburban park with only a few other kids, in a city we all have to curtail our behavior a bit and think of the community. Just because you think your kid can handle something doesn't mean the other 20 kids watching can.

The truth is, the world isn't the same as when we were kids and we must behave accordingly.

World's Best Nanny: I bet you are one of those park bench nannies we read about on here. I, for one, am tired of your comments, which seems like you are defending the bad nannies. I guess you defend these nannies because you are a bad nanny yourself.

Nicole: You remind me of the college nannies that are here in town who think they want to nanny, or who become a nanny and leave the position a few months later because they don't want to nanny anymore. Obviously you don't understand what a nanny is or does, because if you did, you wouldn't be talking crazy and complimenting the child on what he did. Would you even know what to do in this situation if the child hurt himself? I'm guessing no, based on the fact that you and WBN seem like two peas in a pod with similar comments, and lack of good judgement to be a nanny.

Any young child will imitate what they see older children and adults doing. This was clearly not safe for this child or any child to do. How he got up there without his nanny knowing is amazing. Perhaps WBN, Nicole, and this child's nanny should get together and let all the children in their care climb to the top of swing sets, since they think it's OK for a child to do this. NEVER would I let a child of any age do this, then again, I value the safety and well being of the children in my care.

Emily makes great sense. I was gearing up to say essentially the same thing. I MIGHT let my OWN child climb like that, but only in the right circumstance. I would want to be nearby to break the fall if it happened...and I would never allow it with another child sitting innocently underneath on the swings. That could potentially break a neck if he fell on one of them in that position. The picture here shows an incredibly dangerous situation. Not good for the child up top, and unbelievably inconsiderate of the safety of the children underneath.

Lighten up, sis. Yes, we all know you are perfect (ahem) but there are the rest of us lowly humans who are not.I have to agree with you about the bumps and bruises of life, but there is no way I am going to be explaining to my bosses about how their child got a concussion when I let them sit atop a swingset! With my own, that's a different story.Go ahead and get mad at me! :)Happy Mothers Day, WBN.

im thrilled im evoking this kind of reaction from such mature mothers who clearly know whats best! and whats best of course is leaving snarky sardonic little comments on internet nanny blogs! good for you somebody has finally gotten through to me! i shall keep all kids coddled in a womb like atmosphere. alas the children of the world are safe thanks to you dee and muggle!

All the back and forth BS aside, that kid shouldn't have been up there. Learning and getting bumps and bruises via experience and childhood exploration is one thing. Climbing on top of a swingset, especially while it's in use is quite another. You can set boundaries without stifling a child's urge to be a kid.

I stumbles upon this sight and was shocked..the child should not have been up there, w/so many people in the area..were the swing set empty, and an adult (parent or nanny) spotting him, it would be a different story...as for this sight it is scary..if you choose to have children, raise them yourself..poor kids..wow..this is beyond belief!!!!

Boy, somebody else sure has a giant chip on their shoulder. And IF Umass equals MM (which I have seen no indication from anybody here that she does)...everybody here liked Umass...except one psycho stalker who followed her here....so stalker, YOU go away.

Your 8 year olds school calls you and tells you he/she was taken by ambulance to the hospital cause during recess the kid climbed on top of the swing set and fell off.

Honestly, can you say you wouldn't be angry with the school? Kids being kids?

There are PLENTY of things to climb on in a playground. There are CLIMBING structures, and even trees. Lets be real. It just is NOT safe to let a kid do this. Especially without an adult there, waiting willing and ABLE to catch the child in case of a fall.

I agree with Emily- whatever you may do with your own kid, with someone else's kid you take extra precautions. Also, I tend to notice this type of thing a lot at playgrounds designed for younger children- when there are no appropriate climbing structures for older children, they get bored and use the equipment inappropriately (not to say this is the only time it happens). Alternately, as someone else said, why not put the child in gymnastics where they can get a similar experience but in a safer environment.

I think it depends on how crowded the playground is. OP says it was very busy. If the kids were all over each other, and there were little ones, then it could be safer to get the boy down. But I deeply feel kids this age should be given the chance to explore and do things their way, as long of course as it is not inconvenient to others. So depending on the circumstances, I would not necessarily urge him to come down if it was my kid. Of course, if he was not mine and his parents had entrusted me with him, you bet that I would either ask him to come down or stand right just below him, ready to catch him just in case.

I'm not a stalker nor a psycho, I just think Umass is a really rude creep. I was happier when she wasn't posting. All she ever did was look for a reason to be nasty, much like her alter ego has done since her return.

I don't know how someone who has a moniker "go away" can accuse someone else of being a rude creep. It's pretty creepy and rude to tell someone to "go away" because you were "happier when they were not posting."

People don't have to explain why or how they have so many kids. Have all you want, but for gosh sakes, just don't have more than you can take really great care of.

One of the best families I know has 6 kids...all were incredibly well taken care of, loved, and turned out to be exceptionally good people. I have always wondered how that mom found the time to be such a great mom to so many...but she absolutely did.

Yes, kids do need to be able to have free play and a couple falls probably won't hurt anybody. But ten feet in the air over dozens of other (younger) kids? not ok period.

I'm the second of seven kids and grew up surrounded by other large families... many were biological kids, but there were also lots of adopted kids. I see moms everyday who can't handle the three kids they have, so women who are capable of raising multiple children deserve all the respect in the world. Don't hate just because you can't imagine how they do it...

When I was growing up, my friends and I used to play on our own, without parents' supervision - it was a safer world for children. We pulled even crazier stunts. But there is no way my mom would have allowed that, if she had been there with me. And I agree, a nanny has to keep her/his charges on a tighter leash, because she/he is solely responsible for another family's kids' lives.

Six Kids, Get Fixed,I'm sorry but that sounded really horrible. Whether you have one child or nine children, so long as you are able to financially support and physically and emotionally care for those children... no person has a right to judge.

JaneI agree with you 100%. The friend I was telling you about is one of 10 children! And what I find most amazing is that all of them range from Dr. to Pilot to Accountant. I usually see a few children out of a large family become successful, but this Mom had all 10 of her children make it. She really has something to be proud of!

All of my mothers aunts (and her mother) had a minumum of 5 kids (up to 12). They are all successful good people. My six kids are wonderful, and I always hear how polite and sweet they are from teachers, friends parents, whoever. We work together as a family, all help each other. I think I prefer six over say three, any day.

I wanted six, but God decided we needed just three, despite our best efforts. I'm incredibly grateful for my three, but I love seeing big happy chaotic families full of kids..as long as the people who decided to have that many take good care of them and raise them to be good people.

OK, I'll pipe in. I suspect she was joking when she said she's ask jojos kids to get off of the swings so her child could climb...but if somebody did do that and "mom" was present, there might just be a few tense moments on the playground. :)

It's probably apparent by now that I have a real pet peeve with people who ask the world to step aside for them, and forget to remember that other people live in the world and have feelings too. And I have seen a number of mothers over the years who unashamedly barge their children to the front of lines or behave rudely to make sure thier own child gets the first and best of everything, to the detriment of other children who are just as deserving, and may have been there waiting first....children who may have been taught enough manners to wait their turn. I have seen this time and time again. (Here's just one example: My ex sis in law knew somebody at the Country Club where our in-laws took us for brunch and a big egg hunt every Easter. She found out from him in advance EVERY YEAR where the egg with the golden ticket was hidden and ran her son straight to it every year. Once, she saw another child approaching the egg before her child, who was very young at the time, figured out that she was trying to get him to pick up this one certain egg. People were watching, so she couldn't be too obvious or pick it up herself...so she actually put her foot on it so the other child could not get pick it up. So...during all the years until her child grew too old for the egg hunts, no child in his age group ever had even the merest chance of finding the golden tichet and winning the giant Easter basket prize. That stinks.)

This is important to me to the point that I believe we should all think about going out of our way sometimes, even though we don't "have" to, to make things easier for those around us...as in, for instance, giving up a seat on the subway. Don't let your children play in a way that may endanger other kids...and don't expect other kids to scatter so that your child can do something obnoxious in a public place. Have we really lost all sense of common courtesy?

Is it not obvious that Nicole and a couple of other posters here are trolls? For those unfamiliar with the term, a troll is (according to Wikipedia): someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.

I am mother to a precious 10-month-old and I am concerned about how he is cared for when I am not with him. I regularly see other small children at parks and elsewhere being poorly treated by the nannies hired to keep them safe and happy.

I should be the one to decide if this type of behavior (climbing the swings) is the sort of thing my boy should be doing, and not a nanny. A nanny should always err on the side of caution because it isn't her child.

My friends and I climbed higher swings than that when we were young and we all turned out ok. Letting children have the freedom to try new and different things is a good idea. Just because you're all a bunch of overprotective nitwits doesn't mean everyone else is.

Submit a Sighting

Email isynblog@gmail.com.Please include:Date, time, location, a description, photo or videoof the nanny and a description, photo or video of the child. We will blur the child's face for privacy reasons. Please include a detailed description of what you witnessed. We do not disclose the identity of submission authors unless they specifically request to have their information shared with the parents involved in the incident.